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Swiss Marché eatery returns to Toronto after six years

By Dana FlavelleBusiness Reporter

Thu., Aug. 12, 2010

Amid the unpacked tables and chairs, the chefs from Singapore are showing the local Toronto hires how to bake bread from scratch, grate and pan fry the Swiss Rosti potatoes, and hang fresh strands of Italian pasta to dry.

The gleaming German beer station isn’t yet attended. The wine cabinets are waiting to be filled.

Oliver Altherr, CEO of Marche International, in the salad area in the new location in Brookfield Place in Toronto. (RICK MADONIK / TORONTO STAR)

On Friday, the Swiss restaurant chain formerly known as Movenpick will open its biggest location in the world, in Toronto.

The move brings Marché Restaurants Schweiz AG back to Canada after a six-year hiatus.

It also put Marché in direct competition with the new owners of Richtree Inc., the company founded by its former Canadian franchisee after a highly publicized falling out.

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Indeed, Marché is opening in a location previously occupied by a flagship Richtree restaurant in Brookfield Place, an office tower at Yonge and Wellington Sts.

Richtree is moving to expanded quarters up the street as part of the revamp of the Eaton Centre.

Marche chief executive officer Oliver Altherr says he’s not worried about the rivalry or potential for confusion among customers.

“We are very well known in the Canadian market,” he said. “They like our style, the European flair. The Canadian people like our product and we want to build up again several restaurants – between six and 10.”

“We’ve made a lot of changes to our concept over the last few years,” Altherr said, noting the focus is on fresh, handmade, organic and original ingredients. Servings will be priced between $4 and $12, depending on ingredients and size.

“Our company is a restaurant company, not an investment firm,” he added, a reference to Richtree’s current owners, The Catalyst Capital Group Inc.

Richtree vice-president Matt Williams said it was premature to comment on his company’s plans. Richtree operates six restaurants, most of them in the Greater Toronto Area.

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The two companies operate similar European-style market concepts, where customers visit one of many stations where the food is prepared in front of them.

The former franchisee, Jorg Reichert, parted ways with Movenpick in a dispute over his U.S. expansion plans. He was later forced out of Richtree, the company that had held the Movenpick franchise rights, in a flurry of lawsuits. A year later, Richtree filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors and emerged under new owners.

Altherr says Marché has other imitators in Europe. As well, he notes the company was in a similar situation in Singapore when it re-entered that market.

Singapore now produces $20 million in revenue for the company, Altherr said, a figure he believes can be matched or exceeded in Canada.

The company has also opened two smaller Marché Natural Bakery locations in Toronto this year, one in the concourse level of Brookfield Place, the other in the Bay-Adelaide Centre.

Marché says it plans to invest $8-$10 million in Canada.

With 15,700 square feet in Brookfield Place, the restaurant will be Marche’s biggest. The company operates 122 restaurants around the globe, under various names, including Movenpick. It has no immediate plans to bring the Movenpick concept back to Canada.

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